Zumbo must be soooo proud of himself

[Lawrence Keeney]

Zumbo's comments read into Congressional Record
Congressional Record (Senate) ^ | 3/20/07 | n/a



ASSAULT WEAPONS

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the National Rifle Association leadership has stated repeatedly that a ban on assault weapons is ineffective and unnecessary. They assert that guns labeled as assault weapons are rarely used in violent crimes and that most people use them for hunting. However, despite these repeated assertions, the list of people speaking out against assault weapons continues to grow.

Jim Zumbo, an outdoors entrepreneur who lives in a log cabin near Yellowstone National Park, has spent much of his life writing for prominent outdoor magazines, delivering lectures across the country and who starred in a highly rated TV show about big-game hunting. Jim has been an NRA member for 40 years, and, according to his Web site, has appeared with NRA officials in 70 cities across the country. This relationship changed drastically when Jim expressed his commonsense opinion on assault weapons. Last month, after learning that some hunters were using assault weapons to hunt prairie dogs, Jim expressed his thoughts in his personal blog on the Outdoor Life magazine website. He wrote:

Maybe I’m a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity. I’ll go so far as to call them ‘‘terrorist rifles.’’

He continued by stating that in his:

. . . humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don’t need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I’ve always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don’t use assault rifles. We’ve always been proud of our ‘‘sporting firearms.’’

The reaction from NRA officials was swift and callous. They immediately severed all ties with Mr. Zumbo. His TV program on the Outdoor Channel was canceled, and his longtime career with Outdoor Life magazine ended. In addition, many of his corporate ties to the biggest names in gun making, such as Remington Arms Co., were terminated.

Jim Zumbo has worked for years to improve the image of outdoorsmen. As he put it:

As hunters, we don’t need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let’s divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the prairies and woods.

We all owe Jim Zumbo a debt of gratitude for his forthrightness, his honesty and his courage. We must put the safety of our communities first by taking up and

[CDR]

Now lets see if Mr. Zumbo truly becomes the "educated advocate" that he is professing, who has come to the realization that his comments were so absurdly off base that he needs to educate the hunting community of the truth.  Rest assured that even if he does attempt to correct his mistake, the anti-gun community will suddenly find him lacking credibility once the argument doesn't suit their needs.  You can bet that he will not receive any air time in the public press who carry their own agenda.  This man has done more damage with his idiotic statements than we can measure. It is going to be like climbing Everest going forward.

[gunman42782]

Zumbo really shot himself in the foot with those comments.  He lost every sponser he had, as well as being fired from every outdoor magazine he wrote for, including Shooting Illustrated, a NRA publication.  I would say he regrets what he said, but just like we must be accountable for every bullet we fire, he must be accountable for whatever comes out of his mouth (or pen).

[CAMO]

"Zumbo really shot himself in the foot with those comments"

The problem is he shot us too.
CAMO.

[Hazcat]

As it were his comments read into the record he should apply to make a statement before the House to redress his error.

[Sponsor]

[HBMan]

If he meant what he said after his world starting crashing down around him will his lame excuses rectify ANYTHING if he did get a response read into the record?

Anybody think he has the guts to even TRY to clean this mess up in front of Congress?

Even though the media will NOT come public with a statement by him to shed light on his change of heart  ( IF he really does have such a change) at least if it gets put in the record the NRA can rebutt with it.

I HOPE he tries as this thing is NOT going away.

Thanks again ZUMBO.

HBMan

[purple88yj]

Mr. Zumbo has appearantly begun attempting to redeem himself after his attack on "terrorist weapons". Below has been copied and pasted from another board that I frequent. Unfortunately there is no link, but the original poster is one that I would consider trustworthy.

February 28, 2007


Mr. Alan Gottlieb, Chairman
Citizens Committee for the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005

Dear Alan:

They say that hindsight is always 20-20. In my case, hindsight has been a hard teacher, like the father teaching the son a lesson about life in the wood shed.

I was wrong when I recently suggested that wildlife agencies should ban semiautomatic firearms I erroneously called “assault rifles” for hunting. I insulted legions of my fellow gun owners in the process by calling them “terrorist rifles.” I can never apologize enough for having worn blinders when I should have been wearing bifocals.

But unlike those who would destroy the Second Amendment right to own a firearm – any firearm – I have learned from my embarrassing mistake. My error should not be used, as it has been in recent days by our common enemies, in an effort to dangerously erode our right to keep and bear arms.

I would hope instead to use this spotlight to address my hunting fraternity, many of whom shared my erroneous position. I am a hunter and like many others I had the wrong picture in mind. I associated these firearms with military action, and saw not hunting as I have known it, not the killing of a varmint, but the elimination of the entire colony. Nothing could be further from the truth, but I know from whence it comes. This ridiculous image, formed in the blink of an eye, exerts and unconscious effect on all decisions that follow. In seeking to protect our hunting rights by guarding how we are seen in the public eye, I lost sight of the larger picture; missed the forest for the trees.

My own lack of experience was no excuse for ignoring the fact that millions of Americans – people who would share a campfire or the shelter of their tent, and who have hurt nobody – own, hunt with and competitively shoot or collect the kinds of firearms I so easily dismissed.

I recently took a “crash course” on these firearms with Ted Nugent, to learn more about them and to educate myself. In the process, I learned about the very real threat that faces all American gun owners.

I’ve studied up on legislation now in Congress that would renew and dangerously expand a ban on many types of firearms. The bill, HR 1022 sponsored by New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, is written so broadly that it would outlaw numerous firearms and accessories, including a folding stock for a Ruger rifle. I understand that some of the language could ultimately take away my timeworn and cherished hunting rifles and shotguns as well as those of all American hunters.

The extremist supporters of HR 1022 don’t want to stop criminals. They want to invent new ones out of people like you and me with the simple stroke of a pen. They will do anything they can to make it impossible for more and more American citizens to legally own any firearm.

Realizing that what I wrote catered to this insidious attack on fellow gun owners has, one might say, “awakened a sleeping giant within me, and filled him with a terrible resolve.”

I made a mistake. But those who would use my remarks to further their despicable political agenda have made a bigger one. I hope to become their worst nightmare. I admit I was wrong. They insist they are right.

Enclosed, you will find a check that is intended to be used to fight and defeat HR 1022. I also hope it inspires other gun owners to “do as I do, not as I say.”

I’m putting my money where my mouth should have been, and where my heart and soul have always been. I know the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting and never has been. My blunder was in thinking that by working to protect precious hunting rights I was doing enough. I promise it will never happen again.

I don’t know what lies over the horizon for me. I am not ready for the rocking chair.

I’m going to devote every ounce of my energy to this battle. I will remind my fellow hunters that we are first, gun owners. Whether we like it or not, our former apathy and prejudices may place that which we love, hunting, in jeopardy. I will educate fellow outdoorsmen who mistakenly think like I talked, even if I have to visit every hunting camp and climb into every duck blind and deer stand in this country to get it done. I was wrong, and I’m going to make it right.


Sincerely,
Jim Zumbo


My reply to the various retorts to this assumed apology from Mr. Zumbo follows:

I would like to think it possible for a man to redeem himself to his friends and colleague's so long as he realizes the error of his ways and is willing to "fall on his own sword", in this case his words. Though I am not a hunter, nor do I own any of the "terrorist rifles" as he described them in his blog, it isn't just those aforementioned weapons that are the intended victim of H.R. 1022. I think he now realizes that his precious hunting tools will soon be rendered to the collective as assault weapons.

It will take time for his salt to leave the wound, and for now it still stings, but so long as he works to right his wrong, and isn't just mouthing the words, he may just be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the shooting community. Some will be more forgiving than others, some may not forgive at all. I think it fair to cast a judgemental eye until his actions do come to light. For now, we as one are angry and bearing a grudge, but once the man redeems himself, allow us to forgive...but never forget.


You can (should be able to) read more at http://www.combatcarry.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=21802

[Pathfinder]

My reply to the various retorts to this assumed apology from Mr. Zumbo follows:

I would like to think it possible for a man to redeem himself to his friends and colleague's so long as he realizes the error of his ways and is willing to "fall on his own sword", in this case his words. Though I am not a hunter, nor do I own any of the "terrorist rifles" as he described them in his blog, it isn't just those aforementioned weapons that are the intended victim of H.R. 1022. I think he now realizes that his precious hunting tools will soon be rendered to the collective as assault weapons.

It will take time for his salt to leave the wound, and for now it still stings, but so long as he works to right his wrong, and isn't just mouthing the words, he may just be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the shooting community. Some will be more forgiving than others, some may not forgive at all. I think it fair to cast a judgemental eye until his actions do come to light. For now, we as one are angry and bearing a grudge, but once the man redeems himself, allow us to forgive...but never forget.

I for one am more than willing to forgive him his sin. How can I do anything else? But as purple88jy stated, forgetting, and dealing with the consequences, and trusting Zumbo, will take a long, long time.

[ratcatcher55]

Zumbo was on Spirt of the Wild last night shooting the lovely Mrs Nugents pink and black AR-15. I'm sorry but I'm having a tough time buying the new improved Zumbo. I'm not sure he's sorry he got caught instead of sorry that he did the crime. It would have been better to lay low, listen and learn for 6-12 months than proclaiming yourself the next great prophet of the 2nd amendment. You hosed us all, Jimbo!

Gerry

[IDPAshooter]

If our house be on fire, without inquiring whether it was fired from within or without, we must try to extinguish it.
Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Lewis, Jr., May 9, 1798
3rd president of US (1743 - 1826)
 
I really think this quote applies well to the whole Zumbo situation.  Our house is on fire, we are constantly under attacked by anti-gunners.  Since our 2nd amendment rights are diminishing on a day to day basis we can not afford to take a true lover of firearms and ship him out of our flock for one misspoken word.  He was ignorant he admitted to it, I do think it still needs to be done more adamantly and publicly in order to make it clear that he made a mistake.  Once he has put out that fire, because there is an even bigger blaze right around the corner we do not have time to rest and let the scars heal.  We need to be fighting the larger blaze now not later.


-Jose
http://idpashooter.blogspot.com